Hey my beautiful Patrons,
I decided to share this public post with you as well. I hope you realize how deeply I appreciate each of you!
Blog Post:
You owe yourself the love that you so freely give others.
Yesterday I received an email from one of my blog readers. He was a little judgmental about the lack of vigor and depth in my last couple blog posts. I will admit, my response was a little harsh but I do sometimes lose my patience. What he said in his email as well as some the comments I’ve received over the past year while writing on Get Naked With Joy made me realize that a lot of people don’t know who I am professionally.
My married name was Joy Eden Nelson. I first began blogging in 2009 on my blog Tantrachick (archives are still public). I’m the author of a series of erotica short stories that I wrote them in 2011 and honestly can’t remember their titles but they’re on Amazon, Smashwords and a variety of online book stores. I’m also the author of The Concise Guide to Multiple Orgasms for Men, which I wrote in 2012. I’ve been a sex, intimacy and relationship coach, teacher, and workshop facilitator since 2006. I also facilitate ecstatic dance events.
As far as my blogging goes, this blog is currently getting around 10,000 unique visitors per month. In her day, Tantrachick was an incredibly popular blog. She (yes, I talk about my blog as if she’s a person;) has received over 3 million unique visitors since 2009. My combined social media accounts have approximately 14,000 followers.
You’re probably sitting there thinking, “Great Joy, what the f*ck do I care?” My point is to help you gain a deeper understanding of why I’ve added a Patron only area to GetNaked. Beyond the cost of running this blog (WordPress business hosting, Vimeo Pro, theme pages, email responder, etc). It is actually quite time consuming to create content that inspires people. I am not a person who is driven by money, I am driven by passion.
To date, I’ve been blogging for FREE for 10 years! My books cost just a few dollars because I want them to be accessible to anyone who needs them. The last post I shared was posted mid day in the middle of moving my life’s belongings into storage (my 8’ x 12’ tiny cabin isn’t ready to occupy yet). By chance, on the same day my daughter and her boyfriend had to move. I took a break during the middle of all of that, sat down and diligently blogged. Miraculously, my post was deep, revealing, authentic and filled with 4-5 beautiful photos.
I hadn’t saved my draft yet, so just as I was finishing up I saved it and for some F*cking reason, after the spinning wheel of death did its thing, my blog post was gone. Considering the intensity of this sentence I should tell you that the one thing that makes me curse like a trucker (other than falling into the snow) is tech challenges. Especially the lessons in attachment blogging occasionally throws at me. I ended up snapping a couple photos and wrote a short post.
The reason I did so rather than post nothing, is because, after a year of tragedy and loss, I found myself without a voice. Writing has been my saving grace over the years. Beyond the loss of my family, dog, etc. (shit, now I sound like a country song) I also lost my ability to express myself with the written word. I know I blogged a bit here and there, but I have been experiencing a level of writer’s block. I found another outlet of course; my self portraits, but although that has been a powerful experience, it’s just not the same as pounding away passionately on my keyboard.
So please know that I am here. I am focused and I honestly love blogging publicly. I truly want to share ALL of my naked journey with you but I am ready to also cover the cost of my blog. I’m a single mama now and this blog along with my self portraits take a LOT of time. I’m not trying to get rich, I am simply hoping that a few kindred spirits (RK Jr;) will step up and help keep this all possible. So far a few dedicated readers have done just that. I deeply appreciate each of you!
Beyond finances and time, in addition, I also very much need to feel a sense of privacy. I enjoy expressing my thoughts and sharing my naked journey with the world, but some days I feel more private and vulnerable. As I learn how to navigate the tech challenges associated with a membership subscription, I am finding that I LOVE the feeling of sharing with a small group of like minded people who seem to “get me” and are here to support and give me positive feedback. I like my little slice of safe space for expression the membership option has created for me.
And while this journey is about you, my beautiful people, it is also about me. I have needs, wants, desires just like you do. So I humbly offer my public posts and will do my best to ensure that they are engaging and inspiring. But I’m also saving a little space for my deepest, most personal expression (and no, I don’t mean explicit hard core content). I hope you will all be patient with me and if you feel inspired, join my Patrons only membership subscription but for those of you who don’t I will continue to work my butt off to ensure that you also feel inspired by my public posts.
I also have a dirty little secret to admit. Just yesterday I had nowhere to stay for the week but a beautiful friend of mine stepped up and rented me a space during the final building stages of my tiny cabin. I have found myself in paradise. I also want to send a shout out to my sister and my brother-in-law who are currently working practically around the clock to create a space for me to call home. It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve had solid housing and that has taken its toll on me.
But I am about to put that time behind me. I hope you are having a truly blissful day!
From my heart to yours,
Joy
Archives 2/2019
Have you ever considered working as a life model for art classes? I’m sure you’d be very good at it.
Thanks, I’m in a pretty small community not sure that would work her but it’s a fantastic idea!